I'm seeking a change of pace from the usual, standard issue fantasy novels. I want somehing that doesn't have a 'chosen one' or a 'dark lord' or a 2D paper cut-out 'wizard'. Heck. I want something with a plot that doesn't even involve some farm kid/urchin/prince or [shudder] hobbit saving the world from a great evil.

It just seems that modern fantasy has grown stale and unoriginal. Am i searching in vain?

Okay, so do you want something like Martin's works, or are you looking for even more original fantasy?

hmm, I really enjoyed Faerie Tale, a very dark look at the fae folk, written by Ray Fiest, and it's also quite unusual as far as fantasy goes. some other good ones are the Thomas Covenant chronicles by Stephen R Donaldson

The Discworld-series by Terry Pratchett, if you haven't read those already. Definately not your ordinary run-of-the-mill fantasy novels, those. :D

Perhaps original is not the word to choose when describing the plot i'm after - [un]original can mean different things to different people depending on their tastes/experiences. Less grandeur is a better term. Maybe i've just been choosing the wrong books lately but it seems in order for a book to be classified as fantasy, it has to have elements of impending apocalyptic doom and a rag tag bunch of nobodies pitted against it. Novels such as these may still have some original personalities and twists thrown in, but it's the whole tired and rehashed, big time, grand scale conflict that's making me bored.

Why can't the stories be set on a smaller scale? Less focus on wars and dark lords and more focus on the conflict resolution of the less stoic (but more interesting) everyday characters. Characters that are too often given only a cursory glance in fantasy novels and even then only to expand upon that main theme. There are dozens of writers who are very talented when it comes to illustrating the thoughts and drives of big heroes and whatnots but they always come up trumps when dealing with the lesser personas and political/social machinations of non-earth shattering proportions.

Er.. Am i making sense? Oh well.

I very nearly bought Faerie Tale the last time i went book shopping. Feist is one of the less predictable of the fantasy authors whose books i've read and i was keen to get into a story that wasnt't set in Midkemia. In retrospect, perhaps i should have. I bought Jordan's Eye of the World and although i'm finding his writing style to be refreshing... well, you can probably guess why i'm having trouble staying enthused.

The Discworld books were great when i was younger (and i still read one every now and then for a laugh) but they're not really what i'm after. They're certainly in a class of their own though, that's for sure.

I haven't read any of Martin's or Stephen Donaldson's works, though, so i'll have to check them out next time i go book hunting. Thanks for the pointers, guys. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Read the book Ashes and Angel Wings, written by Greg Stolze. it is a VERY witty noval. it talks abt demons returning on earth, a topic easily directing into overpowering villians/heros slaughtering their oppositte side/s. but no, this is not what this noval is about, no open blood sheding slaughtering on the thousands.

to summerize on the plot (without spoiling the content), and this is what the book's back cover was about anyways, the demon Hasmed was forced to return to earth to do his master's bidding (summon him to the world of men). Wicked and confident, Hasmed set his mind on becoming the insider of a local mafia and making it his own, while secretly collecting worshipers to enhance his power. However fate had it that he possessed the form of a three time loser Harvey Ciullo, all the while this hardened child of pit cannot shake off his affections for Harvey's daughter. An instinct could either redeem his soul or destroy him forever.

the author's intelligence and wisdom reflected through his writting.

[ 04-15-2003, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Ken Rauhl ]

Now we're talking. Aside from the modern day setting, this sounds like exactly the kind of story i'm looking for. Cheers Ken. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

the back of Faerie Tale is somewhat misleading, it's not nearly as earth-shattering as it would seem (IIRC), just something that really messes with a normal family.

Just finished reading a pretty interesting book called 'Jennifer Government'. It is bit like 1984 but instead of the government being all powerful the corporations are. Think of it as a libertarian dystopia. Check it out [img]smile.gif[/img]

I recommend the works of Robin Hobb, not your typical cliched heroic fantasy at all. Oh, and I recommend the Discworld series as well.